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In the absence of a government strategy,
this country engagement note (CEN) is intended to guide the
World Bank Group's (WBG's) engagement in
Guinea-Bissau in the s... Show More +hort term (FY15-16), with a focus on
restoring basic services and strengthening basic
institutions, while laying the groundwork for medium-term
development. This initial engagement will be followed by a
systematic country diagnostic (SCD), the preparation of
which has started, and supported through the subsequent
country partnership framework (CPF), to be delivered in
FY16. The CEN is guided by the findings of the 2011 World
Development Report (WDR) on conflict, security, and
development, which make it clear that international support
is crucial for countries recovering from fragility and
conflict, in order to prevent further deterioration of human
capital, help to restart the economy, and strengthen core
public institutions and support the new government. The CEN
will allow for relevant analytical work that will inform the
SCD and CPF. Show Less -

This country engagement note (CEN) is
the first World Bank Group (WBG) country strategy for the
Republic of Fiji, marking the resumption of International
Bank for R... Show More +econstruction and Development (IBRD) lending after
a 23 year hiatus, and launching full WBG engagement. This
CEN comes during Fiji's critical transition to
democratic rule. While Fiji faces challenges similar to
other Pacific islands (including remoteness and
vulnerability to natural disasters), it enjoys distinct
advantages compared to many of its neighbors. Fiji's
economy has reduced its reliance on sugar and garments while
tourism has become the leading sector. The CEN presents a
24-month program to build the WBG partnership with Fiji,
deepen its knowledge base, and support critical investments.
The CEN aims to rebuild the WBG's partnership with the
Government of the Republic of Fiji (GoF), and deepen its
knowledge base, including its understanding of the current
extent of poverty as well as the political economy
challenges that Fiji faces as it moves to consolidate democracy. Show Less -

Panama has made significant progress in
reducing poverty in recent years. Panamas progress in
reducing poverty and increasing shared prosperity compares
positively... Show More + with the Latin American region. Poverty reduction
in the country was greater than the Latin American and
Caribbean average. Only Bolivia saw greater improvement in
shared prosperity, as measured by the growth of the income
of the bottom forty percent of the population, than Panama.
The rise in the middle class, seen in many countries in the
region, was particularly marked in Panama and there has been
an overall decline in inequality. This report takes stock of
this progress, and reflects on the constraints and
opportunities that Panama faces in continuing on its path of
shared prosperity and poverty reduction. Following a
detailed analysis of poverty; recent trends, drivers of
poverty reduction, and demographic factors; the report
provides elements to answer three main questions. First,
what has driven growth in Panama in recent years? Second, to
what extent has this growth been, or not been, inclusive?
And, finally, how sustainable is the growth and more
generally, the development model of Panama? The report
identifies a select list of policy priorities for poverty
reduction and shared prosperity in Panama. While reducing
poverty in Panama will require attention to all deprived
groups, the concentration of the poor in Comarcas suggests
that this would be a priority area. The need to pay
attention to issues of (i) culturally appropriate economic
opportunities, (ii) social assistance, and (iii)
infrastructure provision is highlighted. On the social
front, the countrys cohesion is threatened by existing
inequalities, the crime and violence linked to Panamas
strategic position as a drug corridor, and weak protection
of land rights. In the process of reviewing, analyzing and
synthesizing the existing data and research on Panama, a
series of knowledge gaps were discovered. By discovering and
describing these gaps, this report outlines a roadmap for
further research on Panama that will benefit the design of
specific policies in the priority areas identified in this
report and generate information that can lead to the
identification of new priority areas. Show Less -

Paraguay is undergoing a dynamic
transformation. While historically often lagging behind the
economic performance in the region, growth and poverty
reduction kept p... Show More +ace with the golden decade in Latin
America recently: economic activity expanded on average by
4.9 percent annually from 2003 to 2013 while poverty was
almost halved, dropping from 44 percent to 24 percent during
the same period. While land-locked, the richness in
agricultural land and clean energy resources have propelled
the country to a significant, albeit volatile,
private-sector led dynamism. The last Paraguay Country
Partnership Strategy or CPS (FY09-FY14) focused its program
on three thematic engagements: governance and
anti-corruption, poverty and inclusive economic growth.
During that period the WBG included support during the
global economic crisis of 2009 with policy based lending,
along with investments to improve basic infrastructure. This
CPS (FY15-FY18) supports Paraguay in implementing its
National Development Plan which calls for eradicating
extreme poverty. The document presents a brief analysis of
the countrys challenges, and government program, followed
by the one WBG program for the FY15-FY18 period which will
be demand-driven, selective and flexible, and will employ
the array of instruments available to WBG clients. Show Less -

Cabo Verde is an archipelago of 10
islands located off the west coast of Africa. Nine of these
islands are inhabited by approximately 500,000 inhabitants.
The count... Show More +ry has few natural resources and suffers from
serious water shortages exacerbated by cycles of long-term
drought, one of the main causes of emigration in Cabo
Verdes earlier history. It is believed that now at least as
many Cabo Verdeans (and descendants) live abroad as on the
archipelago. The preparation of the proposed CPS (FY15-17)
was delayed in order to give time to the government and the
World Bank Group to assess the severe impact of the global
financial crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis on
Cabo Verdes economy. The CPS is in line with the GRSP III,
and guided by the WBGs two strategic goals of reducing
poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Cabo Verde has
already made great strides in reducing extreme poverty and
increasing the welfare of the bottom 40 percent. Through the
WBGs focus on agriculture as a cornerstone of poverty
reduction, and on strengthening the linkages of tourism to
the agriculture and fisheries sectors, the WBG program will
support the Governments target of reducing the poverty rate
to 20 percent by 2016. Through support to private sector
development, in particular to the tourism sector, the WBG
program will boost shared prosperity. Show Less -

Seychelles has achieved considerable
economic and social progress since independence in 1976.
Since enduring a major crisis in 2008, Seychelles has
managed a remark... Show More +able turnaround in restoring fiscal
sustainability and laying the groundwork for growth. Having
successfully exited from crisis, the government's
attention has turned increasingly toward consolidating
progress on debt sustainability and increasing resilience by
putting Seychelles on a higher, private sector-led growth
trajectory. While the government has made impressive
progress on fiscal consolidation, these efforts will need to
be sustained in order to achieve its debt reduction targets.
This report reviews the progress in implementation during
the first three years of the FY2012-15 country partnership
strategy (CPS) for Seychelles. The strategy is structured
around two pillars: (i) competitiveness and employment, and
(ii) vulnerability and resilience, and one crosscutting
foundation: governance and public sector capacity. The
strategy is aligned with the Bank Group's twin
corporate goals of reducing extreme poverty and increasing
shared prosperity. Show Less -

Paraguay is undergoing a dynamic
transformation. While historically often lagging behind the
economic performance in the region, growth and poverty
reduction kept p... Show More +ace with the golden decade in Latin
America recently: economic activity expanded on average by
4.9 percent annually from 2003 to 2013 while poverty was
almost halved, dropping from 44 percent to 24 percent during
the same period. While land-locked, the richness in
agricultural land and clean energy resources have propelled
the country to a significant, albeit volatile,
private-sector led dynamism. The country is young with the
demographic window wide open. As a consequence, structural
transformation from on- to off-farm, from rural to urban,
and from primary-to higher-value production is in full
swing. However, the private sector has outpaced public
sector capacity, constraining crucial investment in service
delivery, human assets, and infrastructure which are all
vital for future prosperity and sustained poverty reduction.
Deep-rooted governance problems and corruption remains the
Achilles heel of the country. Given its location and
resource base, Paraguay, and predominantly its most
vulnerable population, is especially exposed to climatic
changes. In addition, environmental degradation is already
significant with the country recording the second highest
deforestation level in the world. The last Paraguay CPS
(FY09-FY14) focused its program on three thematic
engagements: Governance and Anti-Corruption, Poverty and
Inclusive Economic Growth. This CPS (FY15-FY18) supports
Paraguay in implementing its National Development Plan which
calls for eradicating extreme poverty. The document presents
a brief analysis of the countrys challenges, and government
program, followed by the proposed one WBG program for the
FY15-FY18 period which will be demand-driven, selective and
flexible, and will employ the array of instruments available
to WBG clients. Show Less -

The primary development challenge for
the Kingdom of Swaziland is to address the high rate of
poverty and inequality in the country. An estimated 63 per
cent of the... Show More + population lives below the poverty line and
inequality is very high with a Gini coefficient of 49.5.
Between 2001/02 and 2009/10 consumption of the bottom 40 per
cent of the population grew very slowly. Poverty is strongly
correlated with unemployment, which is about 28.5 percent
overall and 52.4 percent among the youth. Poverty is also
associated with the high burden of communicable diseases.
The HIV/AIDS prevalence of 31 per cent of the population is
the highest in the world and life expectancy has fallen to
approximately 49 years. While the country has made
significant progress towards achieving the MDGs, it is
unlikely to reach the health related MDGs due to the high
disease burden. Show Less -

The small, open economies of the
Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) have been
trapped for years in low growth, high debt, and limited
fiscal space, exa... Show More +cerbated by a number of external shocks.
The impact of the 2008 global financial crisis was severe as
tourism, remittances, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and
official development flows decreased sharply, growth rates
plummeted, debt and fiscal imbalances increased to
unsustainable levels, and labor market conditions
deteriorated. With decreasing productivity and weak external
demand in key sectors, decreasing FDI, and continued
structural weaknesses, these impacts are still lingering
today. The financial sector demonstrated limited capacity to
support growth and job creation. The OECS Regional
Partnership Strategy (RPS) for FY15-19 is consistent with
the holistic approach adopted by the OECS Governments to
tackle the long-standing issues of low growth and debt
sustainability. The OECS countries acknowledge the
multifaceted nature of their challenges and have elaborated
their own vision considering that improvements in
competitiveness, reduction in sovereign debt levels, fiscal
adjustments to ensure macro sustainability, and enhance
resilience to shocks are interrelated aspects all critical
to resume and sustain inclusive growth. In that context, the
objective of the RPS is to contribute to laying the
foundations for sustainable inclusive growth through three
areas of engagement: (i) competitiveness, (ii) public sector
modernization, and (iii) resilience. Show Less -

The Board of Executive Directors
discussed the FY13-16 World Bank Group
(WBG)Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for
Ethiopia on September 25, 2012. The CPS supp... Show More +orts the
Government of Ethiopia (GoE) in implementing its Growth and
Transformation Plan (GTP) which covers the period 2011 to
2015. It includes two primary pillars, and seven strategic
objectives. Pillar One (Fostering competitiveness and
employment) aims to support Ethiopia in achieving the
following strategic objectives: (i) a stable macroeconomic
environment; (ii) increased competitiveness and productivity
(a particular focus for IFC); (iii) increased and improved
delivery of infrastructure; and (iv) enhanced regional
integration. Pillar Two (Enhancing resilience and reducing
vulnerabilities) aims to support Ethiopia through (v)
improving the delivery of social services and (vi)
comprehensive social protection and risk management. The CPS
also has a foundation of (vii) good governance and state
building. In line with the GTP, gender and climate change
have been included as crosscutting issues in the CPS. This
report reviews progress against that CPS, and updates the
agenda for the remaining period up to the end of FY16. The
main findings of this progress report are that: (a) progress
has been made in implementing the CPS agenda including: a
substantial increase in our engagement on knowledge
services; new commitments from the International Development
Association (IDA) and International Finance Corporation
(IFC) in FY13 and FY14 totaling $3.0 billion, including
record new commitments by both IDA and IFC in FY14; and
sustained dialogue on country-level development challenges,
including those arising from application of WBG policies;
and (b) the current WBG program in Ethiopia is well aligned
with WBGs two goals. Show Less -

This proposal for the World Bank
Group's forthcoming engagement during the period
FY2015-16 has been developed jointly by International
Finance Corporation (IFC), M... Show More +ultilateral Investment Guarantee
Agency (MIGA), and the World Bank. Prolonged conflict and
deep-seated uncertainty has required the World Bank to rely
on occasional interim strategy notes rather than medium-term
partnership strategies and frameworks. In the highly
unpredictable operating environment, institution
strengthening to build the foundation of a strong
Palestinian administration has been central to the
Bank's program, while IFC has focused on the
development of the financial and infrastructure sectors. The
Bank has been assisting the Palestinian territories since
1994, with assistance financed from International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (IBRD's) net income,
with each transfer requiring the approval of the Board of
Governors. The assistance strategy will balance short-term
stabilization and reconstruction activities with operations
that serve as platforms for maintaining continuous dialogue
with the Palestinian authority (PA) and donors. The strategy
outlined is aligned with the Palestinian National
Development Plan (2014-16) and the experience with the Bank
group's previous (FY2012-14) interim strategy. The
first pillar remains centered on strengthening public
institutions for state building and improving service
delivery. The second pillar continues to be focused on
private sector development with an added emphasis on
increasing employment opportunities (through supporting
reforms that encourage job creation in the private sector).
The development of this strategy has been informed by
upstream discussions with various parts of the PA, private
sector representatives, civil society, and with donor partners. Show Less -

Turkey has had good performance in
reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity in the past
decade. The country partnership strategy (CPS) starting in
FY2012 rem... Show More +ains relevant and is extended by one year to
include FY2016. The three pillar structure - pillar one:
enhanced competitiveness and employment; pillar two:
improved equity and public services; and pillar 3: deepened
sustainable development - continues to frame the country
engagement well. Some adjustments are made at the thematic
area level for the last two years of the CPS (FY2015 and
2016) in view of: (i) aligning the CPS with the World Bank
Group (WBG) twin goals, and (ii) updating the CPS based on
shifts in client priorities and changes in country
circumstances. The CPS so far has delivered financing of
over United States (U.S.) 5.5 billion dollars during
FY2012-14 including U.S. 2.7 billion dollars from the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(IBRD), U.S. 2.8 billion dollars from the International
Finance Corporation (IFC), and U.S. 65 million dollars from
the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) with an
overall well performing portfolio. In addition, IBRD lending
over U.S. 1.15 billion dollars has already been approved for FY2015. Show Less -

This Country Partnership Strategy
Progress Report (CPSPR) for Lao PDR, jointly prepared by the
World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC),
reviews t... Show More +he implementation of the World Bank Groups FY12-16
Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) to date, assesses its
relevance in the current context of the country, and
outlines the expected World Bank Group supported program for
the remainder of the CPS period. Discussed by the Board of
Executive Directors on March 8, 2012, the joint World
Bank/IFC CPS aims to support the strengthening of the
institutions for sustainable and inclusive development in
Lao PDR. The CPS FY12-16 for Lao PDR focuses on three
themes: (1) competitiveness and connectivity, (2)
sustainable natural resource management, and (3) inclusive
development with a crosscutting theme of stronger public
sector management. The CPS FY12-16 was prepared in line with
the Government of Lao PDRs five year plan, the seventh
National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) 2011-2016,
and at a time when the country was registering sustained
strong economic growth with a sharp increase in revenues
from natural resources as well as steady poverty reduction,
from 33.5 percent in 2002/2003 to 27.6 percent in 2007-2008.
Two years into implementation, the strategic focus of the
CPS remains highly relevant. Progress towards achieving CPS
outcomes has been mixed. Good progress has been made on the
first three themes of the CPS, while progress on the
cross-cutting theme of stronger public sector management has
been off track and there are continuing concerns about the
countrys overall macroeconomic performance. There were
setbacks in reaching the targets for stronger public sector
management, although recent developments indicate progress.
This report briefly reviews overall developments in the Lao
economy and summarizes progress with respect to each theme
and planned adjustments in the CPS. The progress report also
discusses the alignment of the CPS with the World Bank
Groups twin goals. Show Less -

Against the backdrop of a less favorable
external environment and decreasing competitiveness, the
Dominican Republic now faces the double challenge of
sustaining gr... Show More +owth and making it more inclusive and
resilient. The overall strategic goal of the country
partnership strategy (CPS) for FY2015-18 is to support the
governments efforts to sustain growth and make it more
inclusive. The CPS is organized around five strategic
results areas over the next four years: (i) improving the
investment climate and fostering private sector development;
(ii) improving access to efficient and reliable electrical
distribution networks, information and communications
technology (ICT), and other infrastructure; (iii) supporting
the government in building resilience to external shocks;
(iv) promoting equitable, efficient, transparent, and
sustainable management of public resources; and (v)
strengthening social service delivery. This CPS is aligned
with the World Bank Groups (WBGs) twin goals of ending
extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity and the
governments development priorities as established in the
national development strategy. The CPS outlines mitigating
measures to contain the substantial political, capacity,
exposure, and natural disasters risks to the program. Show Less -